Council - Home

THE BEST BAR NONE

PROMENADE IN POPLAR

Responsible nightlife venues recognised. SEE PAGE 5

Graham Barker takes you around the streets of E14. SEE PAGES 21-24

KNOW YOUR COUNCIL

Contact details for the mayor and councillors. SEE PAGES 40 & 41

ISSUE FOUR // MARCH 2017

NEWS FROM TOWER HAMLETS COUNCIL AND YOUR COMMUNITY

BACK ON MY FEET Meet Eileen Gorman and the team who helped her regain independence. See pages 12-15

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OUR EAST END MARCH 2017 //

OUREASTEND NEWS FROM TOWER HAMLETS COUNCIL AND YOUR COMMUNITY MOST residents will know that the history of Tower Hamlets since 2010 has been challenging. There were well-publicised problems with the council under the previous mayor, which resulted in the government taking powers from us and bringing in unelected commissioners. And then the previous mayor was removed from office. Since my election in 2015 I have worked hard to change how the council works so we are both more transparent and totally focused on improving services. We have made great progress. I recently met the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Sajid Javid, to update him on our progress. It was a positive meeting, and I am hopeful the government will soon withdraw the commissioners and return full powers to the council. But I am clear that this is not the end of our improvement journey – there is much more to do. I intend to set up an Improvement Board to continue this work and report publicly on progress. To ensure transparency and because this is too important to be treated as a political football I will invite opposition councillors to join the board. Getting all opposition councillors to accept we needed to change has been a challenge, but I continue to work on this. But it’s not just the politics that needs to change. Many of the council’s services are excellent but others must improve. A recent Ofsted inspection of our children’s social services is likely to highlight many of the problems we have already uncovered and started to address. This mirrors the experience across the council, where alongside areas of excellence we have found others that need to improve. Children’s social care is a vital service for vulnerable families yet under the previous mayor it was severely underfunded and stretched, storing up problems. When I was elected the council was leaving some vulnerable children too long without acting, had a high staff turnover and was in need of change. As a start we have agreed an extra £4million a year for children’s social care, but there is still much more to do. Many of our problems will take time to resolve, but Tower Hamlets now has a leadership that tackles its failings, rather than ignoring them. The departure of the commissioners will be progress, but our hard work continues. John Biggs, Mayor of Tower Hamlets OUR EAST END IS PRODUCED BY TOWER HAMLETS COUNCIL, THE TOWN HALL, MULBERRY PLACE, 5 CLOVE CRESCENT, E14 2BG. EMAIL: PUBLICATIONS.NEWS@ TOWERHAMLETS.GOV.UK // EDITOR: RUSSELL COTMAN // 7364 4128 // REPORTER: JESSICA ODUBAYO // 7364

5// Best Bar None

Licensed venues win awards for responsible ownership.

7// Budget

Council tax for 2017-18 and three-year spending plans approve.

8// News from opposition leaders

Cllr Rabina Khan, of the People’s Alliance of Tower Hamlets.

12-15// Spotlight on services

Jessica Odubayo talks to the integrated community health team who play a vital role in adult social care.

as you follow Graham Barker’s latest guided stroll around the borough.

17 & 19// Schools news

25// Holiday fun for kids

Pupils get stuck in to edible playgrounds and tackling the stigma surrounding mental health.

20// Meet the young mayor and his team

Fahimul Islam, Sadia Ahmed, and Shaiam Islam talk to Chris Underwood about winning the election and their plans for the future.

21-24// Walk around Poplar

Discover abundant community spirit

4365 // PHOTOS: KOIS MIAH // 7364 0474 // AD SALES: FATIMA KHAN // 7364 4623. TERRI GORNALL // 7364 4682 // PRINTED BY: TRINITY MIRROR. // DISTRIBUTED BY: LONDON LETTERBOX MARKETING // 8940 0666 //

OUR EAST END IS PRINTED ON 100% RECYCLED PAPER.

Parks line up Easter events.

27-29// Going out

Exhibitions, music and theatre as well as previews of the Boishakhi Mela and events for Women’s History Month.

30 & 31// Harmony

A round-up of council news in Bengali and Somali.

34-36// Community news

Join D-Day veterans’ Normandy trip, two officers talk about their community policing work.

38 & 39// History

John Rennie’s A-Z guide to the East End down the centuries.

40 & 41// Know your council Contact information for the mayor and all 45 councillors.

42 & 43// Get in touch

Meetings and contact information.

Facebook /towerhamletscouncil Twitter @TowerHamletsNow Instagram @TowerHamletsNow // OUR EAST END MARCH 2017

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NEWS FROM YOUR COUNCIL

The borough’s best-run bars and restaurants honoured at awards ceremony BY CHRIS UNDERWOOD Early spring is undoubtedly awards season, but we’re not talking about the BAFTAs, the Brits, or even the Oscars. For bar and restaurant owners in Tower Hamlets there is only one prize ceremony which really matters: the council’s Best Bar None awards. A ceremony was staged at the fourstar Radison Blu Edwardian hotel in New Providence Wharf on Wednesday, March 8, attended by the movers and shakers of the borough’s enviably vibrant night time economy. While collecting silverware on the evening was a real accolade for the winners, the Best Bar None initiative is designed to benefit the whole community by encouraging and recognising excellence in responsible management of licensed premises. By championing those venues in the borough which demonstrate exemplary conduct, the scheme aims to build a positive relationship between those working in the nighttime economy, the police, and local authorities, while promoting the borough as a safe and appealing place for a good night out. Taking the stage to collect the top prizes were: The Big Chill bar on Dray Walk, off Brick Lane: Best Bar; and Canary Wharf’s Boisdale: Best Restaurant 2017. Other winners included The Tower Hotel, on St Katherine’s Way, for Best of the Rest (bar), the Henry Addington for the Crown of Canary Wharf (bar) award, and the Manjal Indian Restaurant, on Turnberry Quay, which collected the award for Best of the Rest (Restaurant). The night belonged to The Big Chill Bar and Boisdale, however, who both collected additional trophies in the Best of Brick Lane and the Crown of Canary Wharf (Restaurant) categories, respectively. With 17 newly-accredited venues, however, the real winners were the people of Tower Hamlets who can enjoy a great night out in the borough safe in the knowledge that those venues recognise their responsibility both to their customers and to the wider community.

The Big Chill, on Dray Walk, off Brick Lane, was named Best Bar

Venues raise the bar for a great night out Clockwise from left: Boisdale – winner of Best Restaurant; The Henry Addington – winner of the Crown of Canary Wharf (bar) award; Manjal Indian Restaurant, on Turnberry Quay – Best of the Rest (restaurant); the Tower Hotel – Best of the Rest (bar)

Mayor John Biggs said: “The Best Bar None scheme is a great way to raise standards in our pubs, clubs, bars and restaurants. “It recognises everyone from high street chains to hidden gems who provide an outstanding service not

only for customers but by being good and responsible neighbours. “I want to thank everyone who makes this scheme possible, from the police and sponsors to all the businesses who take part by striving to improve standards and make our

borough an even better place to eat, drink and enjoy.” Best Bar None was launched in Manchester in 2003 and now runs in 75 towns and cities. Sign up at www.towerhamlets.

gov.uk/licensing // OUR EAST END MARCH 2017

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72% of pupils at No.1 school ALMOST 72 per cent of pupils have secured a place at their favoured secondary school in Tower Hamlets. More than 91 per cent of local children about to step up to senior education were offered a place at one of their top three choices, beating the London average of 89 per cent. Mayor of Tower Hamlets John Biggs said: “With an increasing population and a rise in popularity for oversubscribed schools, allocating places becomes harder. “Yet this year, we have placed more young people in their first preference school than across other inner London boroughs.”

In memory of Altab Ali 6

A CEREMONY on Thursday, May 4 will mark the permanent recognition of Altab Ali Day by the council. Altab’s racially motivated murder in 1978 sparked a cross-community movement, facing down the racism which was prevalent in parts of London. The event will include wreath laying, poetry readings, and speeches in the park in Whitechapel which now bears Altab’s name.

Tube victims remembered A SERVICE to mark the 74th anniversary of the Bethnal Green Tube shelter disaster took place at St John on Bethnal Green Church on March 5. A crush on the stairwell at the station during the Second World War killed 173 people. The event was attended by survivors and Strictly Come Dancing judge Len Goodman, charity patron Tommy Walsh, Mayor of Tower Hamlets John Biggs and Rushanara Ali MP. OUR EAST END MARCH 2017 //

Mayor of Tower Hamlets John Biggs with Cllr Ayas Miah, cabinet member for environment, and club representatives

Cup of cheer for 23 local football clubs By VERONICA PARKER GRASSROOTS football clubs have received a welcome financial boost thanks to funds generated by last year’s Mayor’s Cup. The grants of £750 were presented to 23 local teams at a special ceremony at the Town Hall, attended by Mayor of Tower Hamlets John Biggs and Cllr Ayas Miah, cabinet member for environment.

Mayor Biggs said: “We have a thriving sporting community in Tower Hamlets and these grants will help ensure it stays that way. “I am looking forward to this year’s competition and would urge all local clubs and organisations to get involved.” The tournament takes place over two weekends – beginning on April 1 and

finishing on April 9 – at Victoria Park and Mile End Stadium. There are nine youth categories – from under-8 to under-18 – as well as sections for adult men’s and women’s teams. Enter before March 20 at www.tower

hamlets.gov.uk/mayorscup2017 To find out more about local sport visit

www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/sports

DRIVERS of heavy goods vehicles can take a free course to cut the risk of colliding with a cyclist. The council is working with Cycle Confident on the Safer Urban Driving course, which aims to improve drivers’ awareness of cyclists and other road users. Staff from local concrete firm MixIt (pictured left) have already completed the training. Glen Beckwith from the company said: “The Safe Urban Driving certificate of professional competence module has been a major factor in bringing down incident claims and premium rates for us in the last 12 months.” To book a course e-mail [email protected] or call 3031 6730.

Three-year budget will help protect frontline services BY SUSAN MULLIGAN TOWER Hamlets’ council tax for 2017/18 and its budget for the next three years have been approved at a meeting of the full council. Like other local authorities, Tower Hamlets has a legal duty to set a balanced budget despite the continued government cuts to council budgets. The council identified the need to save about £58million over the next three years from its annual budget. It is on top of £138.3m already saved since 2010 because of previous government cuts. The council’s net budget for 2017/18 is £338.9m. Last year the council ran the Your Borough Your Future public consultation in which 48 per cent of the 1,742 residents who took part said they were willing to see council tax rise in order to protect services, with 38 per cent against. As a result the council increased council tax by 4.99 per cent, the equivalent of 88p a week for the average Band D property. The increase is made up of a 3 per cent adult social care precept following the government’s decision that council tax should be raised to protect vulnerable and older people. It also includes a 1.99 per cent increase in order to fund the services residents said were a priority.

The plans include: n Cleaner streets and attractive open spaces Almost £5million has been allocated to improve the environment, tackle air pollution, reduce littering and incentivise better waste collection. n Safer communities – tackling anti-social behaviour Investment to reduce anti-social behaviour, reduce crime and improve rented housing. n Greater prosperity & local jobs Money to roll out free Wi-Fi in public places, a new skills and employment service, a fund to create 1,000 apprenticeships, help for residents aged 50 and over into employment, support for care leavers to find work and the continuation of free school meals.

Tower Hamlets will still have the seventh lowest council tax in London. Residents also said that the council should protect frontline services (43 per cent), make the council more

n Supporting healthier, happier lives Ensuring children’s centres, libraries and Ideas Stores remain open and making our parks even better. A new £5million tackling poverty fund and 100 per cent council tax discount for our most vulnerable residents. n Building a better borough Continuing work to deliver 1,000 new council homes, and support the development of other homes along with the social infrastructure to support them. n A more efficient council More than half of the savings proposed (£30m) will come from streamlining back-office functions and redesigning our services to be more cost effective.

efficient (55 per cent) and prioritise parks and open spaces (91 per cent) and events (45 per cent). Mayor of Tower Hamlets John Biggs has used their views to produce

a three-year budget and prioritise investment in areas that matter to people the most. Mayor Biggs said: “Government cuts to our budget are hitting Tower Hamlets hard with the council having to make £58 million of savings in the next three years – that’s £1 in every £6 we currently spend. “There is no way you can save that amount without taking difficult decisions, including on council tax, but we have listened closely to residents and protected frontline services as much as possible. “Unlike many other councils, we are keeping children’s centres, libraries and Ideas Stores and leisure centres open. “We are continuing free school meals, creating 1,000 apprenticeships and we are supporting our most vulnerable residents with 100 per cent council tax relief and a new £5m poverty fund.” Councillor David Edgar, Cabinet Member for Resources added: “This is a carefully planned budget that aims to meet existing and future needs. “I am pleased we have been able to invest millions to generate new jobs and skills, make the borough cleaner and invest in community safety programmes that could turn around people’s finances.”

// OUR EAST END MARCH 2017

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COMMENT FROM COUNCIL OPPOSITION LEADERS

All have played part in progress

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THE commissioners have been here for almost two years at significant cost – both financial and time – to the council and council taxpayers. And as we approach the secretary of state’s deliberations to end directions on March 31, we should acknowledge that the commissioners have provided direction and scrutiny, enabling all councillors to further shape the council so it best serves the interests of all our residents. To the credit of elected members and council staff, all have played their part in implementing the directions. As the previous cabinet member for housing, I have observed that the council has learnt lessons from the past and made progress without undermining past achievements. This provides solid foundations for the departure of the commissioners. I am, however, concerned that Tower Hamlets has a growing young population at risk of many social and economic factors. I am enormously proud that successive administrations have been able to rise to the challenge to ensure that children can aspire and reach their full potential. The previous two Ofsted inspections rated children’s services good with outstanding features, confirming this. I await the outcome of the current inspection. As Parliament goes through the process of triggering Article 50 I am also concerned about what Brexit will mean for the future of young people along with all those who live and work in Tower Hamlets. The council needs to commit to work with private and public stakeholders on a Brexit plan for Tower Hamlets – one which works for all our residents, protects all workers and especially those in the financial services, and promotes partnerships between business and local government. Whatever the future holds we all want our companies and communities to thrive. We can achieve this by working in solidarity with all Londoners, regardless of origin. Cllr Rabina Khan, leader of the People’s Alliance of Tower Hamlets


There was a lively debate at George Green’s School in March

Island residents air their views BY SUSAN MULLIGAN ALMOST 400 residents attended two Ask the Mayor events about planning and development on the Isle of Dogs and South Poplar in February and March. Mayor of Tower Hamlets John Biggs organised the events to ensure residents could tell representatives from the Greater London Authority (GLA), the council’s planning team and the Neighbourhood Forum their views on growth and development in those areas, as the organisations

Mayor Biggs pictured at the first event at Jack Dash House

develop housing and commercial plans for them. The first session took place at Jack Dash House. The second was at George Green’s School. Residents raised concerns about the impact of future development and challenged GLA housing targets for Tower Hamlets. They also welcomed the Neighbourhood Forum’s video, which summarised the opportunities and challenges of population growth on the island. Mayor Biggs said he supported the views of resident and called for Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, to listen to their opinions about

changes in their neighbourhoods. He added: “With the scale of development that is happening on the Isle of Dogs, we must do all we can to ensure that new infrastructure supports our existing and new communities. “Developments should support accessible green spaces, prioritise genuinely affordable housing that meets local needs and deliver infrastructure like schools and GP surgeries. “There are clearly concerns about the scale of housing the GLA has planned for the Isle of Dogs. “The city of London needs to understand that the island can only take so much growth and the rest of London needs to do more to pull its weight.”

New protection for tenants TENANTS of privately-rented homes in Tower Hamlets are getting more protection under a new landlord licensing scheme. Nearly half of the borough’s residents rent privately and it is now a legal requirement for landlords in Whitechapel, Weavers, Spitalfields and Banglatown to have a license. More than 2,000 landlords have

applied to sign up since the scheme was started in October, leading to a reduction in anti-social behaviour. Failure to get a licence can result in a fine without a maximum limit. The council is also developing a private renter’s charter to help tenants know what they should expect from their landlords. It will also outline how the council

and other organisations will take steps to support those standards. Tenants, landlords and letting agents are being asked for input for the charter based on their experiences and for recommendations on how the council can make improvements to the private rental market. Give your views at www.tower

hamlets.gov.uk/consultation

Council praised for taking action to tackle food poverty BY ANNA WILSON TOWER HAMLETS is a leading London borough in tackling food poverty issues, according to the London Food Board. The Beyond the Food Bank report rated the council fourth out of 33 boroughs for helping the most vulnerable access good food, by: n providing more than 9,900 free school meals n establishing the Food for Health awards for about 120 businesses n providing more than 127,700 hot meals through Meals on Wheels n working with market traders on use of Healthy Start food vouchers n encouraging breastfeeding through the council’s Baby Friendly initiative n supporting the London living wage.

NEWS FROM YOUR COUNCIL And the Greater London Authority (GLA) confirmed Tower Hamlets Council will receive £5,000 in funding to develop a food poverty action plan to further strengthen this work. Rosie Boycott, chair of the London Food Board, said: “London boroughs are well-placed to intervene in a range of areas to avert or mitigate food poverty and to ensure Londoners have reliable access to sufficient, affordable and nutritious food. “Working in partnership with Sustain, the Mayor is supporting boroughs to develop local food poverty action plans. “These will allow local authorities

and their partners and associates to work together to identify risks, assess provision and coordinate action. “And Tower Hamlets Council showcased the necessary vision to help build local capacity to address the real-life food needs of their residents.” Mayor of Tower Hamlets John Biggs also just recently approved a £5million tackling poverty fund in the council’s budget proposals for the 2017-20 cycle. He said: “It is a scandal that in modern Britain people still struggle with food poverty. “We are committed to doing all we can to support our most vulnerable residents. “And this grant from City Hall will

allow us to expand that work and help even more people. “The food poverty action plan we are developing will build on our successful existing programmes which aim to ensure nobody is left hungry in Tower Hamlets.” Tower Hamlets is one of five boroughs to receive the funding and support from the GLA and Sustain to see the action plan through. The project will be focused on addressing wider issues which contribute to individuals and families experiencing either short or longterm food poverty. A steering group will be created to develop the action plan. It will be made up of stakeholders, including community groups and residents.

Book Day fun at York Hall TRACY BEAKER author Jacqueline Wilson brought literature to life at a World Book Day event run by Tower Hamlets schools library service. More than 1,000 children and 110 teachers and librarians heard the children’s writer speak at York Hall, Bethnal Green on March 2. The hall teemed with Hetty Feathers and Tracy Beakers, witches, wizards, Little Red Riding Hoods and a Mr Bump, as members of the audience dressed up as characters. The children also had books signed and photos taken with the author. n More pictures at www.flickr. com/towerhamletscouncil

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Jacqueline Wilson with Sarah, Safaa and Aaisha from Ben Jonson School. Below: youngsters and a teacher in costume



Tips to keep your bike safe POLICE in Tower Hamlets have issued some tips to help residents reduce the chances of their bicycles being stolen. Officers say they have recently seen an increase in the number of bikes stolen from communal areas and basement car parks. But there are steps you can take to reduce your chances of falling foul of the thieves: n get your bike securely marked and registered at www.bikeregister.com n record the details of your bike and take a photograph of it n use secure standard locks n lock the frame and both wheels to the cycle parking stand n make the locks and bikes hard to manoeuvre n take parts that are easy to remove with you n lock your bike at a recognised secure cycle parking site. For more information on local policing, visit http://content.met.

police.uk/borough/towerhamlets

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MORE than 100 people discussed community safety concerns on a ward walkabout in Bethnal Green. Council and police officers, councillors and other partners (pictured above in Corfield Street) spoke to residents about a range of issues including noise, anti-social behaviour, and substance abuse. The next walkabouts are scheduled for Bethnal Green on April 10 and Limehouse on May 22. Visit www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/wardwalkabouts

Extra help for parents who work 30 hours free childcare comes to borough BY ALISON LANGLEY PARENTS in Tower Hamlets will be among the first in the country to have access to 30 hours free childcare per week. The scheme will be introduced nationwide in September but is coming to the borough in April. It doubles the current entitlement of 15 hours for three- and four-yearolds and the council will now work with nurseries and pre-schools to implement the new system. The additional 15 hours of childcare is available for families where both parents, or the sole parent in a lone-parent family work a minimum of 16 hours a week and earn a weekly income of at least £115. The government estimates that the offer could save working parents around £5,000 per year in childcare costs, helping remove barriers to employment or allowing them to increase the number of hours they work if they want to. Mayor of Tower Hamlets John Biggs said: “Extending childcare is a good idea, and will unlock possibilities for many working parents. “High-quality childcare helps to provide opportunities for children to socialise, build independence and develop their skills, and offers vital support to working parents. “This is, on the face of it, a great

opportunity for us to work with childcare providers in Tower Hamlets to make sure that the 30 hours free childcare scheme will work well for them, for us and for parents, before the national rollout in September 2017. “It’s welcome news for working parents, but I have two concerns. “First, I remain concerned that the government may not adequately fund the scheme and will not hesitate to make this clear if it proves to be the case. “Second, it is a shame that the government isn’t extending this support to parents who are actively looking for work too. “Childcare costs are a real barrier to parents returning to work, and I will be making this case to the government.” Jemimah Davies, nursery manager at Poplar Play, said parents were already queuing up to make use of the extra hours. She said: “We know that parents find the free childcare helpful for their families and it gives them some extra flexibility. “We have already had a lot of interest here at our nursery in the 30 hours childcare offer and are keen to get more details of how it will work so we continue to give our parents and carers the best options for their childcare needs.”

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Skate mates have fun FAMILIES turned out to show off their skating skills at community fun day Get Your Skates On. More than 1,300 people enjoyed ice skating, an inflatable slide, tennis, and arts and crafts at the half-term holiday event in Bethnal Green Gardens on February 15. Mum Sabrina Souames added: “My

children had a fantastic day and they really enjoyed it.” Cllr Asma Begum, cabinet member for culture, added: “This is a popular event which provides a taster to sports and introduces young people and adults to an active lifestyle. “I hope it inspires residents to take up regular exercise.”

New era at St Paul’s Way medical centre A NEW chapter has begun for a GP practice in Poplar. St Paul’s Way Medical Centre has moved into new premises with better facilities for GPs, staff and patients, in William Cotton Place just across the road from its former site. The practice, which is rated ‘outstanding’ by the Care Quality Commission, relocated in January,

but Mayor of Tower Hamlets John Biggs was due to open the new site on Tuesday, March 14. In addition to nine consultation rooms and three treatment rooms, facilities include: n a surgery pod where patients can check their blood pressure n a spacious waiting area with TV screens and iPads

n baby changing and feeding areas for patients with young children n a room for training courses and health promotion sessions For details visit www.stpauls

waymedicalcentre.nhs.uk The practice is the first project to be completed as part of a major investment in new primary care health facilities in Tower Hamlets. // OUR EAST END MARCH 2017

SPOTLIGHT ON SERVICES COMMUNITY HEALTH TEAM

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The team outside their office in Ewart Place, just off Roman Road

Joined-up approach yields rewards in adult social care The integrated community health team provides support for adults with a range of health issues across the borough. Jessica Odubayo reports. Photos by Kois Miah.

Network manager Chris Ley works closely with GPs OUR EAST END MARCH 2017 //

IT was late on a Friday afternoon and a social worker in Wapping received a call from a carer about a problem with a service user’s air mattress. A conversation between the two and a process of elimination enabled the carer to solve the issue temporarily before specialist suppliers delivered a new mattress shortly afterwards. It is a typical example of how staff in the integrated community health team gain an overall picture of a service user’s needs through an understanding of one another’s roles, close working relationships and good communication. On a daily basis they offer a seamless care and support service to residents with a range of health issues, from illness or injury to longer term

conditions. The multidisciplinary, integrated community health teams work across four localities and eight network areas. The teams include social workers, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, psychiatric nurses, speech and language therapists, dieticians, care navigators, district nurses and GPs. They work together to support people with complex care needs who have given their permission for an integrated care approach. Elizabeth Thompson, a team development manager, told Our East End this joined-up way of working helps professionals to respond quickly to situations. “Individuals keep to their roles but work flexibly, keeping service users as

safe as possible – as quickly as possible,” Elizabeth said. Team manager Rose Bonaparte says the team works with service users identified as having very high needs, a life threatening illness such as cancer or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. “We currently have about 350 clients including those with acquired brain injury or those with longstanding conditions, such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, spinal or brain injury,” Rose explained. “We assess the service user for needs such as support with activities, daily living, personal hygiene, and going out into the community. “This is in a bid to promote independence or rehabilitate them and

examples of the support we often put in place include accompanying a service user to a class or community centre, getting equipment, or referral to a day centre. “We can also provide intensive care in the home such as nursing in bed, toileting and medication support.” Muhammad Haque, a social worker in the Isle of Dogs area, said regular information-sharing meetings help professionals to focus on prevention – rather than having to work in a crisis. He said: “Working in a multidisciplinary way is the only way forward and sharing information in many instances has helped promote independence among service users.” Muhammad gave an example of a double amputee service user who used to receive support to go out shopping, and added: “I spoke to an occupational therapist within the team and now the resident has a powered wheelchair. “This means he can get out on his own, do his shopping and enjoy interacting socially in the community.” Network manager Chris Ley said Tower Hamlets adult social care providers are moving away from working on their own to setting integrated targets designed to best meet patient needs. Chris said: “In Poplar and Limehouse, where I work, we have a locality approach. “I am a direct link with primary care and GP practices – I try to influence the integration of services by encouraging staff to open up communication links.

“Conversations are how issues get picked up. Everyone maintains the skills around their disciplines with support from their peers and working together is really important.” Andreas Oresanya works in the Bow area as lead care navigator for Barts Health NHS Trust. He is sure the joined-up approach between the teams helps adult social care providers to reduce costs and the need for patients to go to hospital. Andreas said: “For example, two

brothers, both vulnerable and aged in their 70s, were receiving support. “One has diabetes and the other has learning disabilities and cannot read or write. One started getting depressed and ended up in hospital. “Through our approach, we got nurses in and I spoke to a social worker who took the case on. “Because of the way we work together it was easy to tell the social worker about the brothers’ support needs and also that they need each

Clockwise from left to right: senior practitioner Susan Lambie, social worker Muhammad Haque, duty social worker Oluwakemi Shodinu and team development manager Elizabeth Thompson

Care navigator Lynn Sparks with service user Serafina Martin

other. And getting to know the patient, getting them to trust the professionals talking across the room, and joint visits are some of the ways we achieve this.” Social worker Yetunde Etim agreed with this assessment. She said: “Some clients may be difficult to engage with but we can get through to them through peer and care navigator colleagues who see the clients more often and can gain more trust.” Oluwakemi Shodinu, a duty social worker with the community health team, added: “ When I need information, the care navigator is often my first point of contact. “Recently, I assessed a service user new to the community with no previous engagement with our services. “I contacted the care navigator for the area who proactively sought information from the hospital the client was discharged from.” And Susan Lambie, a senior practitioner with the community health team, told Our East End that individual team members play a part in meeting the common goal. She said: “For example, a local GP worked with a social worker to conduct a joint home visit. “And this has now improved the communication flow between the service user and social worker – and facilitated continuity.”

n Page 14: how the team helped Eileen get back on her feet // OUR EAST END MARCH 2017

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SPOTLIGHT ON SERVICES COMMUNITY HEALTH TEAM

Lead care navigator Andreas Oresanya speaking with 86-year-old Bow resident Eileen Gorman

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‘Fantastic support helped me regain independence’ BY her own admission, Eileen Gorman is not your average 86-year-old. Some of the outgoing and independent octogenarian’s pastimes include going to the gym – and listening to Whitney Houston. But the sprightly pensioner, who lives in Bow, says her gym visits are “not for work-outs” – but for “a laugh and a chat!” Last year, Eileen’s independence was challenged when she suffered a serious chest infection. The bout of ill health literally knocked her off her feet. But now, with what Eileen describes as the “fantastic” support of the integrated community health team, she has regained her cherished independence. She explained: “I had shortterm memory loss and couldn’t OUR EAST END MARCH 2017 //

Eileen chatting on her new intercom system care for myself. So my daughter contacted my GP, who referred me to the community health team. “Within a short space of time, nurses visited and equipment – including a chair for the bathroom along with virtually

everything I needed – was provided. “Those providing care never told me what to do, instead, they asked what I wanted. “They helped me to dress and I had six weeks of support. And that included physio and

occupational therapy. Staff did not rush me but were in constant contact to ask if there was anything they could do.” Andreas Oresanya, who works in Bow as lead care navigator for Barts Health NHS Trust, helped manage Eileen’s care. He said: “I got the council’s team involved to put a care package in place including reablement team referrals. “Our goal was to get Eileen back on her feet – doing what she likes to do.” Eileen, who has lived in Tower Hamlets for most of her life, added: “The team also got a key safe system and intercom installed. They took me out walking and I was gradually able to walk to my daughter’s house and back. “The support was fantastic. Everyone arrived on time and nobody let me down.”

Advanced wheelchair project saves £500k BY JESSICA ODUBAYO AN innovative partnership project to provide advanced wheelchair equipment to Tower Hamlets residents has proved a success and helped save £500,000. Launched in 2014, the partnership between the council, Whizz-Kidz, which helps wheelchair users to be independent, Barts Health NHS Trust, and East London NHS Foundation Trust aims to supply the best equipment in the most efficient way. It has been common for people to receive separate items, such as a wheelchair for home and static chairs for home and school. But joint funding from health and social care partners means they can now have a single, more suitable piece of equipment. Alex Hadayah, project leader for Barts

Health NHS Trust and Tower Hamlets Council, said: “We recognised we could really improve wheelchair user’s lives by jointly funding equipment. “The aim is to join up our work and make a real difference in the borough.” Nick Goldup, director of partnerships at Whizz-Kidz, commented: “It’s great to be working with health and social care organisations in Tower Hamlets. “The project has so far benefitted more than 80 wheelchair users in the area and will help many more in the future. “Not only are wheelchair users telling us how happy they are but we’ve also calculated this joined-up way of providing equipment has collectively saved the local health and social care system around £500,000. It

really is a win-win situation for all involved!” Tower Hamlets resident Fahim, 19, was provided with a new riser chair as part of the initiative. He said: “My new wheelchair has a riser which has made life a lot easier for me. “With my old standard wheelchair, I’d need someone to help me, or something to grab hold of. But with a riser this isn’t a problem anymore. “I definitely feel more independent now I have my new wheelchair. “Even for simple things like going to the bathroom or reaching something high on a shelf, I don’t need to ask for help. “Things are generally more straight forward now and I can do more for myself, which is important to me.”

GLOBE Town Pensioners’ Club had fish and chips and played bingo as part of an event aimed at tackling social isolation in Tower Hamlets. Grants of up to £500 were awarded to 33 groups as part of the project. Club leader Elaine Sadler said: “The grant will support our social events.” Mayor of Tower Hamlets John Biggs said: “We hope this will help promote healthier lifestyles and also combat loneliness.”

ADULTS who have difficulty with things like getting in and out of the bath, personal care and climbing stairs will get an opportunity to submit an online self-assessment. Carers – including family, friends and neighbours – for elderly, sick or disabled residents can also use it to see if they can get council support. The system will be launched in the next financial year and will be for Tower Hamlets residents aged 18 or over. The council’s adult social care services will contact individuals to check they have agreed to an assessment. For more information visit www.towerhamlets.gov.uk

Firewalking for hospice ST JOSEPH’S Hospice in Hackney needs people to take part in two fundraisers on Thursday, March 23. Firewalking and glasswalking over broken glass will help boost coffers. Participants will receive expert training, a St Joseph’s T-shirt and a certificate. Registration is £25, with a minimum sponsorship pledge of £100 or £175 if you do both events. Call 8525 3200 or email [email protected] for information or to book.

Bubble event for charities

St Andrews rated outstanding ST ANDREWS Medical Centre in Bromley-by-Bow has been rated outstanding by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), which regulates health and social care in England. The practice provides NHS primary care services to about 10,600 patients and a GP-led walk-in centre for nonregistered patients. It has

New online assessments

approximately 30,000 visits every year. The centre was rated ‘outstanding’ for being effective, responsive and well-led and as ‘good’ for being safe and caring. Professor Ursula Gallagher, CQC Deputy Chief Inspector of General Practice, said: “After this inspection, I’m very pleased to find St Andrews provides an

outstanding standard of care.” CQC inspectors also found the centre empowers patients to help them take better care of themselves in partnership with the practice through a free mobile phone tele-health app. Inspectors said St Andrews embraces social prescribing, recognising that many patients attending the surgery have

non-medical conditions, and links them with sources of support in the community. And as part of its well community initiative, the practice started the social group Chatter Natter, which offers support for older and potentially isolated people to meet and have refreshments and friendly conversation.

RICHARD House Children’s Hospice and three other hospices will host East London Bubble Rush at the Olympic Park in Stratford on May 21. It will be a fun-filled soak for groups and money raised will be divided between Richard House, Saint Francis, St Joseph’s and Haven House Children’s Hospice. Tickets start at £15 for adults and £10 for children. Details at bubblerush.co.uk // OUR EAST END MARCH 2017

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Edible playground gives pupils food for thought SCHOOLS NEWS FROM YOUR COUNCIL BY JESSICA ODUBAYO A GOOD food project will transform under-used areas of a Poplar school’s playground into a mini farm for fruit and vegetables. A Dream Fund edible playground programme will give Manorfield Primary pupils the chance to grow their own produce, learn about eating healthily and brush up on their core curriculum subjects too. The school’s headteacher Paul Jackson said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for us. “I feel strongly all children should be given the opportunity to grow and cook their own food. “I wil not only improve their knowledge of where our food comes from but also help them develop essential life skills for adulthood. “Our children will use this resource to develop their vocabulary and problem-solving skills, which is vital for improving both English and maths. “So we are all very excited to see the

Pupils Nadine and Ransley with Will Basham from Trees for Cities

edible playground take shape and come to life and I am sure it will be with us for many years to come.” There will be beds for salads, root vegetables, brassicas, soft fruits and herbs, along with fruit trees, a green house and a composting area.

Planting and harvesting workshops will show pupils how to tend their crops, and teachers will receive support to oversee outdoor sessions with help from the Ernest Cook Trust. The Trees for Cities charity is helping to do the groundwork while

the Chefs Adopt a School group is running cooking sessions. And the School Food Matters charity is planning to help the school achieve its first Food for Life Award, in recognition of efforts to promote healthy eating and food education.

Yasna tables bid for national title MORPETH School pupil Yasna Hawbash has made it to the finals of the Jack Petchey Schools’ table tennis competition. Yasna, 13, beat her friend, Raine’s Foundation School pupil Jaynath Ahmed, 15, in the Under16 East London regional final to book a place at the summer event. Yasna said: “I played quite well but I know I can be better. “The final was against a really good friend of mine so I had to put the friendship aside because I wanted to win. “I really like table tennis and I want to do my best in the final. Of course I would like to win.” The regional finals took place at Raine’s Foundation in February, and brought together 103 players

Yasna Hawbash from 15 schools and ten London boroughs. Yasna’s fellow Morpeth pupils Isla Hammond, 13, Jamie Dignum, 18, and Nabilah Rafat were all runners up in their categories. Raine’s pupils Michael Brown, 12, Kian Panyander, 14, also played well but missed out.

PUPILS from St Mary & St Michael Primary School in Stepney excelled at Lee Valley Athletics Centre’s tenth anniversary schools’ competition. They were among ten-year-olds from schools across the Lee Valley region taking part in events including sprints, hurdles and javelin. The competition was held exactly ten years to the day since the opening of the centre in Edmonton, which has

hosted the world’s top athletes, including Jamaican Olympic sprinting legend Usain Bolt. It has also been a training base for Olympic medalists such as triple jumper Phillips Idowu, London 2012 long-jump champion Greg Rutherford and hurdler Natasha Danvers. Centre manager Mick Bond handed out medals and congratulated the youngsters. // OUR EAST END MARCH 2017

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Swanlea kids reframe the debate on mental health SCHOOLS NEWS FROM YOUR COUNCIL

Film and photo project aims to raise awareness of issues BY JESSICA ODUBAYO PUPILS at Swanlea School in Whitechapel are working to raise awareness about mental health among young people and the wider community. A photographic and film campaign, I AM ME, was produced by a group of children aged 12-15 during a film and media after-school club run by Mile End Community Project. The youngsters worked with volunteers from the project and actors on the campaign, which emphasises the importance of accepting yourself and others and aims to challenge the stigma surrounding mental health issues. Mayor of Tower Hamlets, John Biggs attended the campaign launch event where he praised the pupils for their work. Mayor Biggs said: “It is so great to see students sharing and portraying their perceptions of mental health at such a young age. It’s in all of our interest to work together to improve the mental health of local people, particularly given in Tower Hamlets we have some of the highest levels of mental health problems in the country.”

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The event began with an exhibition of the I AM ME images, as well as photos of how the campaign came about. Megan Oldham, a year 10 student who participated in the campaign said: “This project allowed us to voice topics that are important to us and I think mental health needs to be spoken about.” Brenda Landers, headteacher of

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This project allowed us to voice topics that are important to us... mental health needs to be spoken about.” Megan Oldham, 10

Images from the I Am Me campaign, which encourages pupils to be themselves

Swanlea School added: “The I AM ME campaign was to encourage students to use film and media as an outlet as well as learn about the industry. “The students are very passionate about mental health and young people and we, as a community, need to start talking about it to remove the stigma attached to mental health.” To see the film and the campaign images, visit www.swanlea.co.uk

A grand entrance ARTWORK inspired by the history of Raine’s Foundation School, has gone on display on glass doors at the school entrance. Year 8 students at the Bethnal Green school worked with artist Sara Heywood, head of art Imrana Khanum and art teacher Warren Beddow, to create the vinyl installation, entitled Yesterday and Today (pictured left). Supported by volunteers from international law firm Allen & Overy, they created collages and drawings in a Pop Art style, including images of trophies, Henry Raine and antique furniture. Ms Khanum and Mr Beddow said: “We are very proud of our students. The final work exceeds expectations and has tranformed the entrance into a warm and welcoming space.” // OUR EAST END MARCH 2017

Running on positive energy In January, youngsters elected Fahimul Islam as young mayor of Tower Hamlets, supported by Sadia Ahmed, and Shaiam Islam. Chris Underwood spoke to them. What was your formula for winning the election? Sadia: I think our positive energy had a ripple effect. It was obvious young people wanted to get involved – they just needed a way to do so. Fahimul: We put a lot of time and effort into getting ourselves out there, and I think that really paid off for us. Shaiam: Also, we were really active on social media, so when people would shout us out we’d reply straight back to them with positive messages. How did it feel to win? Fahimul: For me it was really tense, because the chief executive said it had gone to a second vote.

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lack self-esteem, in terms of how they can progress academically, because of their background, but if they look at people and are inspired by them, they can excel. It would make me proud to know I had benefited just one person in that way. Fahimul: That we’ve empowered young people, and young people have gained inspiration from us. Shaiam: We want the young people of Tower Hamlets to be successful and to say we had a positive impact on their lives.

Young Mayor Fahimul Islam (centre) with Sadia Ahmed, and Shaiam Islam Sadia: I really wasn’t expecting to get into the top three. Shaiam: Words can’t describe it, but I straight away started thinking about my next step. What will you do first? Sadia: Our initial project is all about promoting opportunities for young people in the borough

through social media and events. Shaiam: We’re also going to go out and speak with young people about concerns they may have. Fahimul: We’re going to showcase all the opportunities for young people. What do you hope to achieve? Sadia: I think some young people

How would you describe yourself? Sadia: I like travelling, writing, poetry. Fahimul: A sporty, outgoing person, always up for a laugh. I’m laid back, but when it’s time to get a job done, I get serious. Shaiam: Sporty, active, determined, sociable. I’m a chilled out person, so I don’t really let things get to me.

WALK FROM LANGDON PARK TO ALL SAINTS

East India Dock runs through the heart of this walk

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Community life thrives due to Poplar demand Graham Barker finds social care and a sense of togetherness in E14. Photos by Kois Miah.

SOCIAL care and community spirit are very much in evidence in Poplar. As you follow this walk from Langdon Park to All Saints, you’ll find community centres, almshouses, sailors’ hostels and youth hubs. Some creative approaches are taken towards engaging local residents, such as a community choir, knit and natter groups, and multisports sessions for disabled groups. For those seeking new skills and ways into work, there are opportunities at Spotlight youth hub, City Gateway Women’s Project, and coworking at Chrisp Street Exchange. The walk starts at Langdon Park

DLR station, with its wiggly silver ‘Whoosh’ sculpture. Alongside, Spotlight (1) shimmers in the sunlight, its lustrous façade freckled with dots. Opened in 2014, Spotlight is a creative youth space, designed in conjunction with local youngsters to incorporate a performance studio, boxing gym, IT suite and fashion workshop. Continue down Hay Currie Street, skirting around the Langdon Park School railings, and behind Panoramic Tower towards the landscaped lawns. En route, Gary Drostle’s glass tile mosaic – Electron

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start: Langdon Park DLR station

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Whoosh sculpture at Langdon Park station

Mosaic where Susannah and Chrisp Street meet

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D I A ’S D R IV E 8 Tower Hamlets College Nip into the college on Poplar High Street to pick up a prospectus, or view it at ORA N T S T www.tower.ac.uk. You’ll find courses – for under-19s and adult learners – in health and social care, business and finance.

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in the corner; at one time, it graced the shop doorway to Montague Burton, ‘The Tailor of Taste’. A giant Chihuahua – some eight storeys high – peers out from the wall opposite, painted by creative duo, Whoam Irony and Placee Boe.

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Flow – sparks around the electricity sub-station. Nip behind Langdon House for a glimpse at the Tapley Close playground – a safe enclave for under-5s, with Frozen and Minecraft murals – before retracing a few steps to the Burcham Street Community Centre (2). Inside, there’s a weekly programme of IT support, armchair yoga, a lunch club, and hands-on gardening. Balfron Tower soars skywards, 27 storeys high; as you approach, the sheer scale and Brutalist 1960s architecture has an impact. Currently undergoing renovation, it was designed – along with the neighbouring Carradale and Glenkerry houses – by Erno Goldfinger. The lift tower, which is clad in rugged concrete and slashed with arrow-slit windows, connects with walkways at every third floor to the main block. In its shadow, the Brownfield Cabin (3) offers a warm welcome and a full schedule of activities. Pop in to find out more about the Poplar Singers community choir, knit and natter sessions, tai chi, and the Men’s Cabin group. Opposite, an archway leads through to the Lodore Street playground and ball court. A few steps on, St Frideswide’s Mission (4) was opened by Christ Church Oxford in 1893. Here, nuns provided support for unmarried mothers, free legal advice, and a soup kitchen. Later, midwives worked here too, bringing to mind the TV series, Call the Midwife. The former Jerusalem Coffee House – once home to the Poplar Association for Befriending Servant Girls – stands nearby at 18 Follett Street. As Susannah Street brings you into Chrisp Street, spot the mosaic tucked

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Cabin Here you can find belly dancing and Pilates, healthy cooking and bereavement support groups. You can also Refresh your wardrobe at a clothes-swap session or pop into the monthly cinema club. Call 3069 7401 to find out what’s on.

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leisure centre (6), next door. Recently reopened after a T TON S A S Hmajor renovation, the baths feature Art Deco touches, R E E as ladder S T such M O R E interior tile work, L O windows, O W R and an impressive vaulted M ACK K roof over the mainWsports court. Local shipbuilder Richard Green ROBIN HO sits outside, withGARDEN his dog beside him. The dog’s right ear is missing; in 1967 an adventurous child got stuck while clambering on the statue and L Athe dog’s ear P OPoff firemen had to chop to release him. Poplar Bath Street leads round to Cottage Street green. N By the far corner, Poplar Coroner’s Court looks rather like an Arts and Crafts cottage,

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Offers free sessions for young people in music, dance and theatre, media and art. There’s also a radio station, boxing gym, art club, and chillout zone. Adults can join the Sunday Assembly – for secular stories and songs, or the Thursday parents’ coffee morning. Visit www.wearespotlight.com

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with mullioned windows and a shapely chimney stack. At the next corner, there is another remarkable building; delicate stone detailing, granite columns, and an octagonal corner tower mark out the former Poplar Board of Works offices, built in 1870, which are soon to reopen as the boutique Lansbury hotel. From Woodstock Terrace, a driveway leads to St Matthias Community Centre (7). The East India Company – wealthy from importing tea, spices, indigo and silk – built this as its company chapel in 1654, one of only three churches dating from Cromwell’s Commonwealth. These days it serves as a base for Neighbours in Poplar and LinkAge Plus activities. An alleyway beside Poplar Play Centre brings you back on to Poplar High Street.

Blackwall

Tower Hamlets College (8) occupies a cluster of buildings opposite: the former Poplar Public Library, School of Marine Engineering and Navigation – with cherubs and dolphins over the doorway – and an angular corner block added in 2004. The newly built Shahjalal Mosque comes into view across the bowling green, picked out by its Islamic star lattice design. And around on Hale Street, a mural depicts the 1921 Poplar Rates Rebellion, led by George Lansbury – later the Labour Party leader – when 30 local councillors were imprisoned for refusing to levy the full rates. Head into Poplar Park and pause for a moment at the beautiful white angel, commemorating 18 children of

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Old Poplar Town Hall

Shahjalal Mosque is next to the bowling green

The Anglican Missions to Seamen Institute


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WALK FROM LANGDON PARK TO ALL SAINTS

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Upper North Street School killed during a bombing raid in June 1917. With the centenary coming up, it’s sure to be in the news. The impressive Jacobean-style building on the corner with East India Dock Road was designed in 1892-4 by Sir Arthur Blomfield as the Anglican Missions to Seamen Institute, one of several local missions set up to oversee the welfare of sailors. When the mission moved out to the Royal Docks, it became the Commercial Gas Company’s Co-Partnership Institute, and later Pope John House. As you cross at the lights, two other sailors’ homes stand opposite. The 170-bed Queen Victoria Seamen’s Rest (9) – set up by the Methodist Church – has sheltered merchant seamen and navy veterans since 1843. And next door, the cream stuccoed terrace was once a sailors’ home, established by George Green in 1841. Green – a prosperous shipbuilder, father of Richard of Poplar Baths statue fame – contributed more than £100,000 towards philanthropic endeavours, including almshouses and schools. The area north of here sustained heavy Blitz damage and was redeveloped as the Lansbury Estate. In 1951, as the ‘live architecture’ site during the Festival of Britain, it was used to showcase post-war town planning. The former Trinity Methodist Church – now a Baptist prayer temple – was one of the festival landmarks. As you stroll through Trinity Gardens, there is a view towards the back of George Green’s almshouses, built as a terrace along Upper North Street to accommodate 21 poor women. Opposite, St Mary and St Joseph Catholic Church (10) – in a chunky but elegant, Modernist design by Adrian Gilbert Scott – dominates the skyline.

Continue through Church Green. As well as a giant spliced rock sculpture, the landscaping incorporates stone tablets from Cardinal Griffin School. Opened in 1950 and later re-named Blessed John Roche Catholic School, the school has since been replaced by New Festival Quarter. It’s an example of how the Lansbury Estate continues to evolve. City Gateway’s Women’s Project (11) is based at Lansbury Lodge, at the start of Ricardo Street. By offering ESOL classes, IT training, and apprenticeships in business administration and childcare, City Gateway aims to help women develop confidence, new skills and pathways into work. Opposite Lansbury Lawrence School gates, head through the archway into Elizabeth Close. This pleasing garden square, like Chilcot Close further along, is flanked

Chrisp Street Market has a range of food stalls


with three-storey housing by notable landscape architect Geoffrey Jellicoe. On the corner, behind Trussler Hall, there’s a glimpse of the Poplar Salvation Army Corps – the oldest surviving corps in the world, set up in 1872. These days it’s also home to a charity shop, café and the Paradise Zone youth centre. Head on, to browse the wares at Chrisp Street Market (12), packed full of stalls, shops and cafes. The scissorpatterned clock tower was originally intended as a viewing platform over what was Britain’s first purpose-built, pedestrianised market square. The Lansbury Micro Museum (13) nestles beside the clock tower, created by the V&A and Poplar HARCA to explore the history of the Lansbury Estate. Its current New Horizons exhibition – including audio stories of local voices – takes a closer look at Poplar from the 1950s to the 1980s.

Lansbury Micro Museum at Chrisp Street

St Mary and St Joseph Catholic Church in a chunky but elegant, Modernist design by Adrian Gilbert Scott

On Vesey Path, the Chrisp Street Exchange is a new co-working space for freelancers and entrepreneurs, buzzing with bright ideas. They’re open to newcomers for a discounted trial week. A few doors along, community-minded Kafe 1788 serves Haitian coffee, and hosts open mic nights and art exhibitions. Facing it, and clad with blue and green glass, Idea Store Chrisp Street (14). One of five Idea Stores in the borough, it has books and DVDs to borrow, as well as offering online access, courses, book clubs, legal advice drop-in sessions, and Prime Time for older people. Finally, on the corner, charity shop Emmaus sells an ever-changing range of second-hand furniture and clothing, with proceeds supporting work with homeless people. After exploring, you’re back at All Saints DLR station, the end of your walk.

Chrisp Street clock tower with Canary Wharf behind

On your parks, get set... go! EASTER HOLIDAYS FUN FOR KIDS

School’s out... so make the most of it at the borough’s open spaces Junior Wildlife Club: Fantastic Foxes Join the community park rangers and Victoria Park mascot Vicky the Vixen to learn about the many foxes that live in the park and take part in our fox themed arts and craft activities. Ages 6-14. Victoria Park. Booking required. Sat, April 8. 10am-12.30pm. victoriapark@tower hamlets.gov.uk 7364 7968

Performance in the Park – A Pants Pirate Adventure Show Take a picnic and join the Panto

Easter Eggstravaganza!

The Urban Wheelers Jam

Hunt for eggs, meet the Easter Bunny or make a bonnet. Ages 4-12. No need to book. Weds, April 12. 12noon-3pm. Victoria Park. Meet at The V&A Building, Area B7.

Show off and improve your skating and BMX skills. Coaching available. Ages 7-16. Victoria Park. Meet at The Wheel Park – Area D5. Weds, April 5. 11am-3pm. Booking required. victoriapark@tower hamlets.gov.uk 7364 7968

Bus team on a journey across the high seas as Captain Y-Fronts and the Pants Pirates hunt for lost treasures. No need to book. Tues, April 11. 1pm. Victoria Park – Located in the bandstand Area C1.

Spring walk Guided walk taking in the bulbs and trees springing to life. Booking required. Sat, April 15. 1.30-3.30pm. Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park. 7364 7968

Arts and crafts Get creative at this fun-filled afternoon. Ages up to 11. Tues, April 11. 12noon-3pm. Mile End Children’s Park, Locksley Street, E14. [email protected] 7364 4147

Easter Egg Hunt Choccy heaven for families and kids aged up to 11. Sun, April 16. 1-3pm. Mile End Children’s Park, Locksley Street, E14 [email protected] 7364 4147

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OUT & ABOUT WHAT’S ON

Exhibitions BanglaHop! Dance photography exhibition by Green Candle Dance Company, with images by and of students from Mulberry School for Girls and Redlands and Smithy Street primary schools. March 21-30. Daily 9am-10pm. Oxford House Gallery, Derbyshire Street, Bethnal Green, E2. www.oxfordhouse.org.uk

Place (Village) Rachel Whiteread’s sculptural artwork goes on permanent display at the V&A Museum of Childhood. It features a community of around 150 doll’s houses which were collected by Whiteread over 20 years. The artwork will join more than 100 doll’s houses already in the museum’s own collection. From Sat, March 25. Daily, 10am-5.45pm. Free. V&A Museum of Childhood, Cambridge Heath Road, Bethnal Green, E2. www.vam.ac.uk/moc

East End Trail Paintings by Noriko Michigami, who enjoyed walking along Regent’s Canal to escape from the busy and noisy city life. Until March 29. Daily 9am-10pm (weekends 10am-2pm). Oxford House, Derbyshire Street, Bethnal Green, E2. www.oxfordhouse.org.uk

Game Plan: Board Games Rediscovered Celebrates the ecstasy, excitement and occasional frustration of board games. Until April 23. Daily 10am-5:45pm. Free. V&A Museum of Childhood, Cambridge Heath Road, E2. www.vam.ac.uk/moc

Trading Words From historic rates and tariffbooks listing goods imported and exported via London over the

Dancers on stage at last year’s Boishakhi Mela and, below, families enjoying the event

Mela expects record crowds THE Boishakhi Mela kicks off the festival season with a fantastic celebration of the Bengali New Year. This year, it is going to be bigger and better with an estimated 55,000 to 65,000 visitors expected. It has been the largest Bengali outdoor event in Europe and a fantastic annual day out for the whole family for more than 20 years. Organisers promise an impressive line-up of Bangladeshi music, arts and culture but the headliners for this year are top secret for now.

last 400 years, this is a typographic installation of granite, integrated into the public realm through London Dock. Until April 30. Daily 10am-6pm. Free. Arrival Square, Wapping, E1. www.londondock.co.uk

Medium Median Berlin-based artist Alicja Kwade’s work explores our relationship to space and time. Until June 25. Daily 11am-6pm (Thurs until 9pm). Free. Whitechapel Gallery, 77-82

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Festival goers can begin the day at 11am with the Mela Procession at Buxton Street by Brick Lane on Sunday, May 14. The main event takes place at

Whitechapel High Street, E1. www.whitechapelgallery.org

Kids

Weavers Fields, The Heart of Banglatown, Spitalfields from 12noon-7pm and it is free. For more information visit www.towerhamlets.gov.uk

Half Moon Young People’s Theatre, 43 White Horse Road, Stepney E1. 7709 8900. www.halfmoon.org.uk

Sammy the Snow Leopard

Boys don’t

Sammy, nine, hears about the ‘Adopt-a-Snow-Leopard’ programme and thinks it’s the perfect way to have a pet but soon embarks on an adventure. This show includes stuffed animals, malicious neighbours, school projects and limes. March 18. 11am and 2pm. £7.

Funny and sometimes heartbreaking stories of boys in the emotional spotlight shine a light on the experience of young men growing up. For ages eight to 12. Until March 24. £7. Half Moon Young People’s Theatre, 43 White Horse Road, Stepney, E1. 7709 8900 // OUR EAST END MARCH 2017

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Women’s History Month ARTISTS, activists, writers and performers, community groups and organisations are celebrating Women’s History Month with a range of events and exhibitions demonstrating female diversity.

The First Woman Mayor of Bethnal Green Fascinating talk about the life and career of L. Dorothea Benoly, the first woman Mayor of Bethnal Green, who served from 1933-1934. Saturday, March 18. 2.30-3.45pm. Free, no booking required. Tower Hamlets Local History Library & Archives, 277 Bancroft Road, Stepney Green, E1. 7364 1290. www.ideastore.co.uk

Women in East End Yiddish Theatre Join BBC journalist David Mazower for his talk on the role immigrant women played in the development of Yiddish theatre in the East End. Women were a key part of the

OUT & ABOUT WHAT’S ON

From Suffragettes to Feminists Join Michelle Johansen for a look at the changing lives of women in the 20th century, from the battle for equal voting rights to the women’s liberation movement. Examined through archive sources on fashion from the 1930s to feminist ephemera from the 1980s. Sat, March 18. 11am-4pm. £37 or £27 concs. Bishopsgate Institute, 230 Bishopsgate, EC2. 7392 9200 www.bishopsgate.org.uk

Yiddish theatre’s appeal as chorus girls, music hall singers, actresses, or running their own theatre companies. Thurs, March 23. 6.30-7.30pm. Free and no booking required. Tower Hamlets Local History Library & Archives, 277 Bancroft Road, Stepney

Green, E1. 7364 1290. www.ideastore.co.uk

Nostalgia is not Enough The Brady Boys’ Club was the first Jewish boys club in Great Britain. Founded in 1896 it originally provided underprivileged boys

Lovebox Festival celebrates its 15-year anniversary. Headlined by Frank Ocean and Chase & Status. Fri, July 14-15. From £55. www.loveboxfestival.com

Theatre William Shakespeare’s Long Lost First Play

Music Field Day Field Day is an eclectic music festival with contributions from some top clubs, promoters and websites. It also has a village green vibe, with a tug-of-war, sack races and a tombola. Sat, June 3. 11.30am-11pm. Online tickets start at £40. Victoria Park, Grove Road, E3. www.fielddayfestivals.com

Reduced Shakespeare company explores the idea that Shakespeare intended all of his plays to form a single big one. March 28-April 1. £15-25 or £10-20 concs. Wilton’s Music Hall, Graces Alley, E1. www.wiltons.org.uk

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying Classic musical follows Fitch, an

from the East End with recreational and educational opportunities. The Brady Girls’ Club was founded in 1921 by Miriam Moses and is the focus here. The exhibition represents a selection of images from a recently recovered collection from the Brady Centre. Until March 31. Mon-Fri 10am-8pm and Saturday 12noon-5pm. Cass Foyer Gallery, Central House, 59-63 Whitechapel High Street, E1. 7320 1984. www.londonmet.ac.uk

Autograph ABP Ingrid Pollard has been commissioned to create five new works inspired by the Making Jamaica exhibition, which explores how a new image of Jamaica was created through photography in the late 19th century. Until April 11. Tues, Wed & Fri 11am-6pm, Thurs 1-9pm, Sat 12noon-6pm. Free. Rivington Place, Shoreditch High Street. 7729 9200. www.autograph-abp.co.uk

ambitious window washer who rises through the ranks of a big business. April 8-22. £17.50-29.50, £15-27 concs. Wilton’s Music Hall, Graces Alley, E1. www.wiltons.org.uk

Grimelight Poetry organisation Poet In The City explores grime’s relationship with poetry. Thurs, April 13. 8pm. Free. Main Space, Rich Mix Centre, 35-47 Bethnal Green Road, E1. 7613 7490. www.richmix.org.uk

Tatterdemalion A one-man show of puppetry, physical comedy and mime. Thurs, May 11-13. £12.50-17.50/£10.50-15.50 concs. Wilton’s Music Hall,

Graces Alley, E1. www.wiltons.org.uk

Othello Contemporary telling of Shakespeare’s play, in which Othello is a Muslim general with difficult decisions to make. Tues, May 16-Jun 3. £15-25 or £12.50-23 concs. Wilton’s Music Hall, Graces Alley, E1. www.wiltons.org.uk

RSC Live – Antony and Cleopatra Iqbal Khan directs Shakespeare’s tragedy of love and duty, Captured live from the RSC, Stratford-upon-Avon. £10. Thurs, Jun 15. 7pm. East Wintergarden, 43 Bank Street, Canary Wharf, E14. www.seetickets.com 0871 220 0260 // OUR EAST END MARCH 2017

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SPhr Pk´reJ yPf YJ~ A~JÄ ßo~r Kao The new young mayor and his team – page 20

Cashuurta iyo miisaaniyada laysla waafaqay Council tax and budget approved – page 7 HARMONY BENGALI & SOMALI NEWS

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CASHUURTA Councilka TOWER Hamlets ee sanadka 2017/2018 iyo miisaaniyada councilka ee saddexda sanadood ee soo socda ayaa lagu ansixiyey kulankii golaha councilka. Tower Hamlets waxa Sida degmooyinka kale sharci ahaan waajib ku ah inay dejiso miisaaniyad isu qiyaasan, inkastoo xukuumadu sii wado inay sii dhinto miisaaniyadaha councilka. Councilku wuxu ogaaday in loo baahan yahay saddexda sanadood ee soo socda kayd lacageed oo lagu qiyaasay £58m. Kaydkani wuxu dheeraad ka yahay £138.3m lacag ah oo hore loo kaydiyey ilaa 2010kii, sababtuna ahayd xukuumadii hore oo miisaaniyad dhimis samaysay. Miisaaniyada councilka ee 2017/2018ka waa £338.9m. Sannadkii tegey councilku wuxu dadweynaha la yeeshay wadahadalkii degmadaadu waa mustaqbalkaagii, 48% dadweynihii ka qayb qaatay oo dhamaa 1742 waxay yidhaahdeen, waxaanu jecelahay in cashuurta la kordhiyo, si loo ilaaliyo adeegyada. Go, aakii uu councilku ka qaatay fikirkaa dadweynaha wuxu noqday korodh cashuureed ah 4.99%, oo u dhiganta 88p todobaadkiiba oo celcelis ahaan lagu kordhiyey guryaha heerka B and D. 3% ka mid ah korodhsiimada cashuurta waxa lagu kaaabayaa daryeelka bulshada dadka waaweyn, iyadoo la raacayo go,aankii xukuumada ee ahaa in cashuurta councilka la kordhiyo si loogu daryeelo dadka dayacan iyo dadka waaweyn. Sidoo kale waxa kordhsiimada ku OUR EAST END MARCH 2017 //

jira 1.99% loogu talo galay in wax lagaga qabto adeegyada dadka degaanku u arkaan inay mudan yihiin. In kastoo korodhsiimada la sameeyey hadana Tower Hamlets weli waa councilka 7,aad ee ugu cashuurta hooseeya London. Sidoo kale (43%) dadka degaanku waxay soo jeediyeen inaan la dhimin adeegyada safka hore, (55%) waxay dalbadeen in councilku waxqabadkiisu noqdo mid tayo leh, (91%) in mudnaanta la siiyo beeraha iyo meelaha banaan, (45%) in mudnaanta la siiyo dhacdooyinka muhiimka ah. Duqa Tower Hamlets John Biggs iasgoo isticmaalaya fikradihii ay dadweynuhu soo dhiibteen, wuxu soo bandhigay miisaaniyad saddex sanadood ah, wuxuna mudnaanta maalgashiga siinayaa meelaha ay dadka intooda badani soo jeediyeen in mudnaanta la siiyo. Mayor Biggs wuxu yidhi: “Dhimistii ay xukuumadu ku samaysay miisaanayadeena wuxu si aad ah u saameeyey Tower Hamlets, ayadoo uu councilka khasab ku tahay inuu sameeyo £58 milyan kayd ah saddexda sanadood ee socda – taa macnaheedu waxa weeye £6 ee kasta waa in la kaydiyo £1 ka mid ah. “Suurta galna maaha inaad kaydiso lacagtaa adigoon go,aan adag qaadan, oo ay ka mid tahay cashuurta councilka, laakiin si dhow ayaanu u dhegeysananaa dadka deegaanka ah, waxaanu badbaadinaynaa adeega safka hore intii suurta gal ah. “Waxaanu kaga duwanahay degmooyin badan, inay sii jiri doonaan xaruma carruurteenu, maktabadaha, meelaha fikradaha lagu kaydiyo, iyo xarumaha dadku waqtiyada firaaqada ah ku qaataan.”

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QmvJUL ßouJ 14 ßo ßrJmmJr Boishakhi Mela on May 14 – page 27

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jfáj uqJ¥uct uJAPxK¿Ä KÛPor IJSfJ~ aJS~Jr yqJoPuaPxr k´JAPna ßrP≤c WPrr mJKxªJrJ IJrS xMrãJr xMPpJV kJPmjÇ PyJ~JAaYqJPku, CAnJxt, K¸aJuKløx S mJÄuJ aJCPjr uqJ¥uctPhr FUj uJAPx¿ gJTJr IJAjVf mJiqmJiTfJ rP~PZÇ mJrJr mJKxªJPhr k´J~ IPitTA FUj k´JAPna WPrr nJzJKa~JÇ Vf mZPrr

IPÖJmPr FA uJPx¿ KÛo YJuM yS~Jr kr F kpt∂ 2 yJ\JPrrS ßmKv uqJ¥uct uJAPxP¿r \Pjq IJPmhj TPrPZjÇ Fr ßk´KãPf FK≤ ßxJvqJu KmPyKn~Jr ßmv TPoPZÇ uJAPx¿ jJ gJTPu \KroJjJr KmiJj TrJ yP~PZ FmÄ fJr xPm±tJóY ßTJj xLoJ ßmÅPi ßh~J y~KjÇ TJCK¿u ßaPj≤Phr \Pjq FTKa YJatJrS k´˜f á TPrPZÇ // OUR EAST END MARCH 2017

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Cycling talk by experts OXFORD House in Bethnal Green is hosting a talk on cycling on London’s roads on Thursday, March 23. Dr Ashok Sinha, chief exec of the London Cycling Campaign, Peter Murray, founder of the London Festival of Architecture, and Tom Platt, who has worked for the Living Streets charity, will be on a discussion panel. They will talk about their love of travelling on two wheels and ideas to make cycling safer and better for all. For more information go to www.oxfordhouse.org.uk

Cabbies to make last Normandy vets trip BY JESSICA ODUBAYO LONDON’S black cab drivers are making plans to transport hundreds of Second World War veterans on a final trip to the beaches of Normandy. The June 4-8 trip to France will be the last of its scale organised by the Taxi Charity for Military Veterans because the number of vets who can make the journey is diminishing. The trip is free for those who served in the conflict plus one family member or carer. It will include a remembrance service at the Pegasus Bridge Museum, laying wreaths at

the Ranville War Cemetery and trips to Bayeux and the Arromanches. Dick Goodwin, vice president of the charity’s committee said: “We’ll be setting off from London so we can pick up veterans from mainline stations in the capital and arrange for an overnight stay so they are refreshed for the journey the next day. “They can also join us at Portsmouth if its closer. “Our youngest veterans are now touching 90 so sadly the number with the stamina and fitness for an overseas trip is falling every year. Last

COMMUNITY NEWS

Providence earns award

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year, 64 cabbies took 98 plus volunteers and paramedics to Ypres. “We’ll continue our annual trip to Worthing and events in the year but this is the last trip of this size. There is a great spirit of friendship and the old chaps and ladies are great fun. “We want to let them know we are there for them.” To book a place call 07860 850102 or email [email protected] by Monday, March 20.

A CHARITY in Bethnal Green has received a £60,000 grant to give young people the chance to make music in London. Funds from City Bridge Trust, a City of London Corporation’s charity, will be used by the Sound Connections group (pictured left). The group believes all young Londoners should be able to make music, and over the past decade has provided opportunities and delivered music programmes. It works with partners who help visually impaired children, refugees, young offenders, people with mental health issues and those with disabilities. For more information visit www.sound-connections.org.uk

HOMELESSNESS charity Providence Row has earned national recognition. The Spitalfields charity achieved the Advice Quality Standard for its free and independent advice in Tower Hamlets and the City. Chief executive Pam Orchard said: “It is testament to the hard work of our team who support people affected by homelessness in Tower Hamlets. “We will continue to work hard to maintain this standard long into the future.”

The brides who took pride READER OFFER AUTHOR Kate Thompson’s latest historical novel, The Wedding Girls, takes us back to the 1930s and ’40s when brides said ‘I do’ to a lifetime of commitment. Kate said: “For research I travelled around the East End to meet many women, now aged in their 90s, whose health might be fragile, but who still recall with vivid intensity the most treasured day of their lives. “Glamorous weddings were a reaction to the horrors of the war. “And that, combined with the emergence of Hollywood, meant brides were determined to sprinkle a dusting of romance and escapism OUR EAST END MARCH 2017 //

over the most important day of their lives. During the Great Depression a beautiful wedding portrait was a symbol of hope.” Our East End has five copies of the Pan Macmillan book to give away in a free prize draw. For a chance to win a copy, send you name, address and phone number to: Wedding Girls Competition, Our East End, Mulberry Place, 5 Clove Crescent, London, E14 2BG. Alternatively email your details to

jessica.odubayo@towerhamlets. gov.uk putting Wedding Girls Competition in the subject line Entries must be received by midday on Friday, April 7.

Big boost for job prospects EMPLOYMENT and training specialists Prospects have won a contract to support 3,000 low-paid workers in Tower Hamlets. The Skills Funding Agency and European Social Fund are backing the project until August 2018 to help people find better jobs and boost productivity and skills. Prospects will work with the National Careers Service on the scheme. To find out more visit www.prospects.co.uk

Two mounted officers with Natasha and Andy outside Limehouse police station

Pair lead fight against Fund a new anti-social behaviour football team BY JESSICA ODUBAYO ACTING police inspectors Natasha Walker and Andy Sanderson will target anti-social behaviour in the borough, after recently being appointed to their new roles. Safer Neighbourhood Teams (SNTs) plan to work closely with Tower Hamlets residents to tackle the problem. And Andy, of the East Cluster SNT, is responsible for 11 teams of local officers who are attached to wards in the east of the borough. He said: “I know the area well because I used to be team sergeant for Poplar SNT, where we delivered a 48 per cent reduction in anti-social behaviour over two years.” During the winter months, Andy and his colleagues focused efforts on tackling trespass-related problems in blocks of flats. He told Our East End officers visited the homes, checked locks on entrances doors and reported faults to the council for repair. The team recently arrested a man who was armed with a taser in Stroudley Walk, Bow. They also detained a man who was

New acting inspectors Natasha Walker and Andy Sanderson threatening members of the public at a tube station and dealt with a large fight in the Mile End area. On top of that, officers conducted 22 searches of open areas and confiscated weapons believed to have been concealed by gang members. Psychology graduate Natasha, the new acting police inspector for the west of the borough, joined the Met 17 years ago. And since taking on the role she says she has been working hard at getting to know her local patch. She said: “My first few weeks have been busy, meeting partners and the sergeants in charge of the nine wards

which cover areas including Spitalfields, Shadwell, Wapping, Whitechapel, Bethnal Green and Stepney.” And Natasha is sure that community involvement will be vital their success. She added: “We need your help so please visit our website for contact details if you’d like to get involved. “You can help decide local policing priorities or let us know if you’d like to speak to your local officer about a problem in your area.” You can contact the team at

http://content.met.police.uk/ borough/towerhamlets

GRASSROOTS football clubs can apply for a slice of a £1.5million funding pot to help launch a new team. Westward Boys FC and Vallance FC are among the Tower Hamlets sides to have benefitted from Football Foundation grants already. England manager Gareth Southgate (pictured above) said: “The money can help with the fundamentals of any burgeoning club.” Apply for a grant before March 29 at www.football foundation.org. uk

Stroke risks RESIDENTS of South Asian origin are being encouraged to know the signs of a stroke as they have a higher risk than white counterparts. A Public Health England backed information video with Emmerdale actor Bhasker Patel is on YouTube. Search for ‘Bhasker Patel Act F.A.S.T. Dial 999’. // OUR EAST END MARCH 2017

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COMMUNITY NEWS

Grant award boosts fitness THE London Marathon Charitable Trust’s new grants of more than £1million will help three projects in Tower Hamlets. The trust backs groups with a track record of getting people more active and the latest round of awards includes £76,666 towards a new centre for wellbeing at Toynbee Hall in Spitalfields. Mile End Park’s artificial pitch will get £95,000 to improve their help fund for resurfacing work. And a there is a grant of £8,022 to housing and community organisation Look Ahead, which will help pay for gym equipment at their recovery centre for vulnerable adults in Bethnal Green.

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Food market THE council’s market services team has launched a new local food market. The Columbia Road food market is open Sundays from 8am to 3pm on the footway near Ravenscroft Street Park. Speciality food includes artisan bread, organic meat, fruit and vegetables, and homemade quiche. Email streetmarkets@ towerhamlets.gov.uk or call 7364 1717 for details.

Job help day A JOB information day for young people with autism or a learning disability will take place on Friday, March 31. The Tower Project will host the event between 10am-3pm at the Ecology Pavilion, Haverfield Road, Bow. To register your organisation’s interest in taking part, call 8980 3500 or email [email protected]

Toynbee Hall chief moves on BY JESSICA ODUBAYO ANTI-POVERTY charity Toynbee Hall based in Spitalfields has announced its chief executive Graham Fisher is leaving. During his eight years at organisation, Mr Fisher oversaw the expansion of advice services covering financial inclusion, learning, community and wellbeing. He established the London Debt Strategy Group and led the team managing the London Fairness Commission, as well as spearheading the £17million regeneration of the Toynbee Hall estate. Julian Corner, chair of the board of trustees at Toynbee Hall, said: “It’s no exaggeration to say that Graham has transformed Toynbee Hall. “He has helped to extend the reach and range of our services locally to over 14,000 people each year as well

Graham Fisher said the team had recaptured the spirit of Toynbee Hall’s founders

as leading the pan-London Debt Advice Partnership, Capitalise. “Under Graham’s leadership Toynbee Hall has once again become an influential voice in tackling poverty in London and throughout the UK. “We will miss him and extend our best wishes on his exciting new role.” Mr Fisher, who is taking on the role of chief executive of Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation, said: “The decision to leave has been a very difficult one. “I have had the enormous privilege of leading a fantastic and dedicated team who have really made an impact on tackling poverty. “In doing so they’ve re-captured the spirit of Toynbee Hall’s founders.” An interim chief executive will be appointed following Mr Fisher’s departure in late March.

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An A-Z of East End history Remember the London A-Z? Hardly anybody uses them anymore, what with satnavs in our cars and Google Maps on our phones. Although with all that walking around with eyes glued to a screen, nobody seems to be raising their eyes to see what’s around them anymore. With that in mind, John Rennie offers our alternative (and far from complete) guide to the East End of London… Aldgate

Isle of Dogs

THE old entrance to the East End of course, long before it was even called the East End. Aldgate was the most easterly of the old gates in the City walls, first erected as a defensive barrier by the Romans. Geoffrey Chaucer, who liked to sprinkle East End characters into the Canterbury Tales, lived in a grace-andfavour apartment above the gate when he was employed as a customs official from 1374 to 1386.

ANOTHER canine derivation perhaps, though much disputed. Some say it was where Edward III kept his greyhounds and others that the name is a corruption of Isle of Ducks, as it was where the toffs used to go hunting.

Jewish London

Bow

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ORIGINALLY known as Stratford, referring to the street which led to the ford over the River Lea. The construction of a bowed bridge over the Lea (built after Queen Matilda took a ducking in the river in 1110) gave the new name Stratfordatte-Bow, and thence simply Bow. Stratford is now centred a mile or so to the east, of course.

Four Per Cent Industrial Dwellings Company offered decent affordable housing

Cannon Street Road THE growing East End was decimated by the railways being driven through the old tenements and slums in the mid-19th century – the Fenchurch and Liverpool Street lines did not pay much attention to what was in their way. And, with over-investment, many of the lines and stations didn’t even last very long. Cannon Street Road station was one of the more evanescent, being opened in 1842 between Minories and Shadwell on the London and Blackwall Railway, and closing just six years later.

Davenant Foundation School LIKE many old grammar schools in the East End, Davenant was founded by a local worthy – the Rev Ralph Davenant, who in 1680 left £100 in his will to start up a school for 40 poor boys in the Whitechapel Road. Its move to Loughton in 1966 at the invitation of Essex County Council would be followed by the likes of Coopers’ Coborn school. It was less about deserting and more about following East Enders who had already decamped. OUR EAST END MARCH 2017 //

E postal districts

Goodman’s Fields Theatre

BY the 1850s, London had become too big for the General Post Office to treat it as a single postal town. That great reformer of the British postal system, Sir Rowland Hill (he invented the postage stamp), suggested splitting the metropolis into suffixed and numbered districts. And so W, WC, SE, E and the rest were born. The London Olympics necessitated a new, E20 district, covering the Olympic Park (sorry Walford).

OPENED on Alie Street in Whitechapel and part of the strong tradition of East End theatres that give the lie to the theory that early theatre was a West End phenomenon – after all the first ‘theatre’ of them all was established here. And another G – David Garrick – performed here.

Four Per Cent Industrial Dwellings Company BEFORE council housing, attempted by Evelyn Rothschild and other Jewish philanthropists to cure ‘spiritual destitution’ in the East End by providing decent, affordable housing. The first developments were in Thrawl Street, Flower and Dean Street and George Street, Spitalfields.

Houndsditch AS grisly as the name suggests, this was once a ditch that ran along the outside of the London Wall. It became famed as a dumping ground – and frequently for dead dogs. In the 20th century it became a thriving market, which is now sadly gone the way of so many. But in its day it became known as ‘the Selfridges of the Jewish Quarter’.

SPITALFIELDS and Whitchapel – the real heart of the East End – had seen immigration for centuries, including Huguenot, Irish, German and many more. But by the late 1800s the area was overwhelmingly Jewish and at one time there were an estimated 100,000 Jews in the East End. That led to oppressive measures such as the Aliens Act of 1905, which sought to prevent incomers taking jobs from Londoners. Over the course of the 20th century there would be a renewed diaspora, as Jewish families moved up and out into Essex, north London and further afield.

Kitcat Terrace NOTHING to do with chocolate bars alas. The Bow street commemorates the Rev Henry James Kitcat, rector of St Mary’s Bow from 1904 to 1921. The name derives from Kitcott, a place name in Devon.

London, Jack THE bibulous Californian novelist went down and out in the East End a few decades before George Orwell, and his book The People Of The Abyss, about London’s experience of living among the poor of Whitechapel, inspired Orwell. A reviewer in the Daily Express said: “It would be difficult to imagine a more depressing volume.”

Mosque, synagogue, church PERHAPS nothing sums up waves of immigration into the East End better than the Brick Lane Great Mosque. Formerly a Huguenot church and then a Jewish synagogue, it has been in continuous use as a place of prayer since 1743.

Norton Folgate A TINY street connecting Bishopsgate with Shoreditch High Street, but for centuries it had a special status as a ‘liberty’ – outside the control of the Crown – and thus a destination for thieves and vagabonds. Remembered too in the name of the 2009 album by Madness.

Old Ford THIS was the original crossing point of the River Lea since before Roman times. The way across for a road beneath the modern Oxford Street and Old Street and heads out to Colchester.

Poplar THE boundaries have changed much since it was a medieval hamlet but the metropolitan borough – with its councillors’ 1921 rates rebellion (for which councillors went to jail) – is unarguably its finest hour. Also the site for the Living Architecture strand of the 1951 Festival of Britain.

Queens THERE was Matilda falling in the River Lea of course, but perhaps the most famous visit is by Queen Elizabeth, mother of the present Queen. She visited the East End after the terrible bombing of the Blitz. And when Buckingham Palace was

Clockwise from above: the boating lake at Victoria Park in 1900; Ratcliffe Cross Stairs c1935; Wilton’s Music Hall in 1979. Pictures: Tower Hamlets Local History Library and Archives

bombed to, she said, ‘Now we can look the East End in the face.’

Ratcliffe ANOTHER disappeared hamlet and once known as ‘sailor town’, it was a stew of opium dens, pubs, brothels… and hard working East End families of course. Centred on Narrow Street, by 1900 it had been subsumed into Stepney, leaving only the name of The Ratcliffe Highway. And even that is now gone – it is just The Highway.

Stepney RECORDED around 1000AD as Stybbanhythe, or ‘Stybba’s landing place’, it was a remote and marshy area. But a village developed around London’s oldest parish church, St Dunstan’s, founded in 923AD. The marshes were drained and the area was developed around the docks and railways in the 19th century.

Underground

X-ray

IF the railways destroyed much of the East End, the Underground knitted Edwardian London together, encouraging travel across the capital. There are lost stations (St Mary’s Whitechapel) and the oldest underriver tunnel in the world (the Thames Tunnel, once in the service of the East London Line and now carrying the Overground).

THE London Hospital was a pioneer in the use of the new technology in the last days of the 19th century. There was just one problem – there was no mains electricity in the hospital in 1897 when treatment began. So a porter had to take the machine to a nearby house to charge it up before use. Remember that the next time you want to grumble about the NHS.

Victoria Park TOFFS never wanted Cockneys coming up west to go to Hyde Park so, from 1842, they carved out 86 hectares, safe from the encroaching terraces and it became ‘the People’s Park’. It was probably the only sight of a tree, a lawn and certainly a boating pond for many East End kids. And in later years it became a popular spot for radical political meetings. Terrifying to think that in the 1970s there was talk of driving a motorway relief road through it.

Toshers

Wilton’s Music Hall

IF you think it’s hard making a living, try being a mudlark, scavenging for bounty on the banks of the Thames. Or worse a tosher – looking for coins and jewellery washed into London’s newly developed sewers in the 19th century. Dangerous work and very smelly.

THOUGH you’ll still find it on the map, the Wellclose Square in Stepney is a shadow of the beautiful Georgian square that, in the spirit of the 1960s, was torn down and redeveloped. And there is Wilton’s Music Hall, a Victorian marvel that has somehow survived and still entertains now.

Young, Michael OR Lord Young if you prefer (the father of Toby, but don’t hold that against him). As well as helping found the Consumer’s Association and the Open University, he co-authored Family and Kinship in East London in 1957. It was as good a picture of a tight-knit cockney community (and dealing with the problems of rehousing people in homes fit for the 20th century) as you will read – and a snapshot of a disappeared East End.

Zoo NO such place in the East End surely. But wild animal trader Charles Jamrach thought the Highway a suitable place for tigers, lions and elephants in the 1860s… with occasionally disastrous results. East London’s answer to PT Barnum. // OUR EAST END MARCH 2017

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THERE ARE 45 COUNCILLORS IN 20 WARDS: 22 LABOUR, 9 INDEPENDENT GROUP, 5 CON

KNOW YOUR

COUNCIL BETHNAL GREEN Amy Whitelock Gibbs* (LAB) Tel: 07739 031456 Email: cllr.amy.whitelock gibbs@towerhamlets. gov.uk @AmyLWGibbs

Shafiqul Haque (IND) Tel: 07463 367089 Email: cllr.shafiqul.haque @towerhamlets.gov.uk

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Sirajul Islam* (LAB)

BLACKWALL & CUBITT TOWN Chris Chapman (CON) Tel: 07738 246663 Email: cllrchrischapman @gmail.com @ChrisChapman86

Dave Chesterton (LAB) Tel: 07964 834996 Email: cllr.dave.chesterton @towerhamlets.gov.uk

Candida Ronald (LAB)

BOW EAST Amina Ali (LAB) Tel: 07718 129777 Email: cllr.amina.ali @towerhamlets.gov.uk @AminaAliLabour

Rachel Blake* (LAB) Tel: 7364 0363 Email: cllr.rachel.blake @towerhamlets.gov.uk @RNBlake

Tel: 07949 164104 Email: cllr.candida.ronald @towerhamlets.gov.uk

Tel: 07973 815272 Email: cllr.marc.francis @towerhamlets.gov.uk

MILE END

POPLAR

SHADWELL

Tel: 07957 148101 Email: cllr.shah.alam @towerhamlets.gov.uk

David Edgar* (LAB) Tel: 07958 314844 Email: cllr.david.edgar @towerhamlets.gov.uk

Rachael Saunders* (LAB) Tel: 07799 417580 Email: cllr.rachael. saunders@towerhamlets. gov.uk


Gulam Kibria Choudhury (IND GROUP) Tel: 07846 659941 Email: cllr.kibria. choudhury@tower hamlets.gov.uk

Asma Begum* (LAB) Tel: 07946 292712 Email: cllr.asmak.begum @towerhamlets.gov.uk @asmabegum_

Joshua Peck* (LAB) Tel: 07887 990735 Email: cllr.joshua.peck @towerhamlets.gov.uk @CllrJoshuaPeck

Marc Francis (LAB)

Tel: 07931 708308 Email: cllr.sirajul.islam @towerhamlets.gov.uk @CllrSirajIslam

Shah Alam (PATH)

BOW WEST

Rabina Khan (PATH) Tel: 07944 790383 Email: cllr.rabina.khan @towerhamlets.gov.uk @RabinaKhan

Harun Miah (IND GROUP) Tel: 07949 051295 Email: cllr.harun.miah @towerhamlets.gov.uk

SPITALFIELDS & BANGLATOWN Suluk Ahmed (IND GROUP) Tel: 07956 830783 Email: cllr.suluk.ahmed @towerhamlets.gov.uk

Gulam Robbani (IND GROUP) Tel: 07939 005745 Email: cllr.gulam.robbani @towerhamlets.gov.uk

BROMLEY NORTH Khales Uddin Ahmed (LAB) Tel: 07949 555915 Email: cllr.khales.uddin ahmed@towerhamlets. gov.uk

Mohammed Mufti Miah (IND) Tel: 07957 690560 Email: cllr.mohammed. muftimiah@tower hamlets.gov.uk

ST DUNSTAN’S Mahbub Mamun Alam (IND GROUP) Tel: 07946 491261 Email: cllr.mahbubm. alam@towerhamlets. gov.uk @mahbubalam01

Ayas Miah* (LAB)

Tel: 07961 566066 Email: cllr.ayas.miah @towerhamlets.gov.uk

SERVATIVE, 5 PEOPLE’S ALLIANCE OF TOWER HAMLETS, 3 INDEPENDENT AND 1 LIB DEM The members of the cabinet (*) are:

Tower Hamlets Council has a system of governance in which the elected mayor, John Biggs (pictured left), has personal responsibility and executive powers. Mayor Biggs is responsible for determining and delivering a wide range of policies and priorities. He is advised by his cabinet of councillors and by council officers.

BROMLEY SOUTH Danny Hassell (LAB) Tel: 07807 732795 Email: cllr.danny.hassell @towerhamlets.gov.uk @dannyhassell

Helal Uddin (LAB) Tel: 07939 998625 Email: cllr.helal.uddin @towerhamlets.gov.uk

CANARY WHARF Md. Maium Miah (IND GROUP) Tel: 07983 798791 Email: cllr.maium.miah @towerhamlets.gov.uk

Andrew George Wood (CON) Tel: 07710 486873 Email: cllrandrewwood @gmail.com

Cllr Sirajul Islam (statutory deputy mayor) – housing, faith communities & welfare reform Cllr Rachael Saunders (deputy mayor) –

ISLAND GARDENS Andrew Cregan (LIB DEM) Tel: 07970 688807 Email: cllr.andrew.cregan @towerhamlets. gov.uk

Peter Golds (CON)

Tel: 7364 3237 Email: cllrpetergolds @aol.com

education, children’s services & the third sector Cllr Shiria Khatun (deputy mayor) – community safety Cllr Rachel Blake – strategic development Cllr Joshua Peck – work & economic growth

LANSBURY Ohid Ahmed (IND GROUP) Tel: 07984 424913 Email: cllr.ohid.ahmed @towerhamlets.gov.uk

Cllr Amy Whitelock Gibbs – health & adult services Cllr Asma Begum – culture Cllr Ayas Miah – environment Cllr David Edgar – resources

LIMEHOUSE Craig Aston (CON) Tel: 07506 595151 Email: cllrcraigaston@ gmail.com

Rajib Ahmed (LAB) Tel: 07958 740097 Email: cllr.rajib.ahmed @towerhamlets.gov.uk

Shiria Khatun* (LAB) Tel: 07958 711095 Email: cllr.shiria.khatun @towerhamlets.gov.uk

ST KATHARINE’S & WAPPING Julia Dockerill (CON) Tel: 07548 316751 Email: cllr.julia.dockerill @towerhamlets.gov.uk @wappingtories

Denise Jones (LAB) Tel: 07956 103483 Email: cllr.denise.jones @towerhamlets.gov.uk

ST PETER’S Clare Harrisson (LAB) Tel: 07443 659606 Email: cllr.clare.harrisson @towerhamlets.gov.uk @ClareHarrisson

Abjol Miah (IND)

Tel: 07940 585071 Email: cllr.abjol.miah @towerhamlets.gov.uk

Muhammad Ansar Mustaquim (IND GROUP) Tel: 07956 924134 Email: cllr.muhammad. mustaquim@tower hamlets.gov.uk

STEPNEY GREEN SABINA AKHTAR (LAB) Tel: 07931 572219 Email: cllr.sabina.akhtar @towerhamlets.gov.uk

Oliur Rahman (IND GROUP) Tel: 07961 743489 Email: cllr.oliur.rahman @towerhamlets.gov.uk

WEAVERS Abdul Chunu Mukit MBE (LAB) Tel: 07985 124248 Email: cllr.abdulc.mukit @towerhamlets.gov.uk

John Pierce (LAB)

Tel: 07772 710080 Email: cllr.john.pierce @towerhamlets.gov.uk

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WHITECHAPEL Shafi Ahmed (PATH) Tel: 07956 959764 Email: cllr.shafi.ahmed @towerhamlets.gov.uk

Abdul Asad (PATH)

Tel: 07944 292903 Email: cllr.abdul.asad @towerhamlets.gov.uk

Aminur Khan (PATH) Tel: 07958 667577 Email: cllr.aminur.khan @towerhamlets.gov.uk


COUNCIL INFORMATION SERVICES, CONTACTS, MEETINGS

Council

Report it

Meetings March Thurs, March 16 7pm: Pensions committee Tues, March 21 7pm: Audit committee

Town Hall Mulberry Place, 5 Clove Crescent, E14 2BG. 7364 5000 General enquiries 7364 5020

Hotline numbers

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Housing benefits 7364 5001 Council tax 7364 5002 Parking services 7364 5003 Streetline 7364 5004 Adult social care 7364 5005 Children’s services 7364 5006 Pest and noise nuisance 7364 5007 Environmental health, trading standards & licensing 7364 5008 Planning & development 7364 5009 Business rates 7364 5010 Recruitment line 7364 5011 Electoral services 7364 0872 Tower Hamlets Homes 7364 5015 Healthline 7364 5016 Anti-fraud 0800 528 0294

Housing

Repairs 0800 376 1637 Tenancy support 7364 5544 Housing advice 7364 3558 Homeless service 7364 7474 Choice-based lettings 7364 0244 Homeseekers 0845 270 2400 OUR EAST END MARCH 2017 //

Non-emergency crimes 101 Textphone 18001 101 Domestic Violence Team 0800 279 5434 Haven Whitechapel (sexual assault referral centre) 7247 4787 Karma Nirvana (honour network helpline) 0800 5999 247 Broken Rainbow (LGBT domestic violence) 0845 260 4460 Black Women’s Health & Family Support 8980 3503 Rights of Women 7251 6577 Victim Support Line 0845 30 30 900 Victim Support Tower Hamlets 8555 8254 NSPCC Child Protection Helpline 0800 800 5000 Childline 0800 1111 Shelterline 0808 800 4444 Respect (for perpetrators) 0845 122 8609 Men’s Advice Helpline 0808 8010 327 Samaritans 08457 909090

Tower Hamlets Mediation Service

7pm: Licensing committee Weds, March 22 7pm: Council Thurs, March 23 7pm: Strategic development committee Tues, March 28 5pm: Grants determination (cabinet) sub-committee 6.30pm: Licensing sub-committee Weds, March 29 6pm: Overview & scrutiny committee

One Stop Shops Bethnal Green 1 Rushmead, off Bethnal Green Road, E2. Bow & North Poplar

Weds, April 5 7pm: Development committee Mon, April 10 6pm: Best value programme review board Tues, April 11 6.30pm: licensing sub-committee Tues, April 18 5.30pm: Health and wellbeing board Mon, April 24 6.30pm: Housing scrutiny sub-committee Tues, April 25 6.30pm: Licensing sub-committee

April Tues, April 4 5.30pm: Cabinet

John Onslow House, 1 Ewart Place, E3. South Poplar 15 Market Square, Chrisp Street, E14. Stepney & Wapping Idea Store Watney Market, 260 Commercial Road, E1. Open Mon-Fri, 9am, doors close at 4.30pm. Sat, 9am, doors close 12.30pm at Rushmead and Idea Store Watney Market only.

Idea Stores

Free service for council tenants and leaseholders 7702 8305

Walk-in services

6.30pm: King George’s Field charity board

Bow Gladstone Place, E3. Place, Canary Wharf, E14. Chrisp Street Vesey Path, E14. Whitechapel 321 Whitechapel Road, E1. 7364 4332 Watney Market Commercial Road, E1. 7364 4332 All open: Mon to Thurs, 9am-9pm; Fri, 9am-6pm; Sat, 9am-5pm. Sundays – Idea Stores

7pm: Strategic development committee

Bow and Chrisp Street 10am-4pm; Whitechapel 11am-5pm; Canary Wharf, 12noon-6pm.

Libraries Bethnal Green Cambridge Heath Road, E2. 7364 3493 Cubitt Town Strattondale Street, E14. 7987 3152 All open: Mon, Tues, Weds & Fri, 10am-6pm; Thurs, 10am-8pm; Sat, 9am-5pm. Local History Library and Archives 277 Bancroft Road, E1. 7364 1290 or email local [email protected] Open Tues, 10am-5pm; Weds, 9am-5pm; Thurs, 9am8pm; Sat (1st & 3rd of the month), 9am-5pm.

Careers

Tower Hamlets Careers Service Careers Centre,

Weds, April 26 6pm: Overview & scrutiny committee

May Tues, May 2 5.30pm: Cabinet Tues, May 9 5pm: Grants determination (cabinet) sub-committee Weds, May 10 7pm: Development committee Weds, May 17 7pm: Annual council meeting Meetings take place at Town Hall, Mulberry Place, 5 Clove Crescent, E14, unless otherwise stated. Dates and times may change. For details, visit www.towerhamlets. gov.uk/meetings or call 7364 4651.

35 Bow Road, E3. 7364 1401 TH Lifelong Learning Shadwell Centre, 455 The Highway, E1. Skillsmatch Canary Wharf Recruitment & Training Centre 55 Upper Bank Street, E14. 7364 3727 or email skillsmatch@towerhamlets. gov.uk

Debt

Shadwell Debt Advice Centre 302 The Highway London E1W 7680 2772 admin@johncarrs charity.org.uk Toynbee Hall Advice Service 28 Commercial Street, E1. 7392 2953 [email protected] www.toynbeehall.org.uk Fair Money Advice 530 Commercial Road, E1. 7702 8032

/towerhamletscouncil

@towerhamletsnow

www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/signup

READER PHOTOS

PARBINA Begum took this picture at Limehouse Marina, early one January morning on her way to work. She told Our East End: “The fog that morning was, I kid you not, magical. “I felt like I was in an enchanted, but moody forest.” Parbina, 27, who lives in Limehouse and works as an administrator is passionate about photography. “I hope to continue my pursuits to capture the beauty and essence of my borough,” she said.

Send your photos to [email protected] or tag us on Instagram @TowerHamletsNow www.fairfinance.org.uk Island Advice Centre Island House, Roserton Street Isle of Dogs, E14. 7987 9379 www.island-advice.org.uk

Lifeline Renew (under-19s) Spotlight (2nd floor), 30 Hay Currie Street, E14. 7536 8869 [email protected]

Parent & child

Drugs

Health

Reset: Tower Hamlets Drug & Alcohol Service n Advice and information n Substitute prescribing n Community alcohol detoxification n Family support n Needle exchange n 1-2-1 counselling n Benefits advice n Help to access education training and employment n Blood-borne virus service n Assessment for residential detoxification & rehab. Mon, Weds, Fri, 9.30am5.30pm; Tues 1-8pm; Thurs 9.30am-8pm; Sat 10am-2pm. Beaumont House, Mile End Hospital, Bancroft Road, E1. 8121 5301 [email protected]

East London Parkinson’s Support Group John Scurr Community Centre, 1A Bekesbourne St, E14. 0808 800 0303 Alzheimer’s Society Robinson Centre, Mile End Hospital, Bancroft Road, E1. 8121 5626 Tower Hamlets Advocacy Project Gladstone Place, 1 Ewart Place, E3. 7364 2550/2199 Free home fire safety advice 08000 284428 LinkAge Plus Toynbee Hall, Commercial Street, E1. 7392 2914 www.toynbeehall.org.uk

Family Information Service 30 Greatorex Street, E1. [email protected] 7364 6495 Tower Hamlets National Childbirth Trust 07976 710964 [email protected] www.nct.org.uk

Welfare

Account 3 1-9 Birkbeck Street, E2. 7739 7720 www.account3.org.uk Bangladesh Youth Movement 21-23 Henriques St, E1. 7488 1831/2 Bromley by Bow Centre St Leonard’s Street, E3. 8709 9737 www.bbbc.org.uk

Citizens Advice Bureau 32 Greatorex Street, E1. 7247 1050 www.adviceguide.org.uk Island Advice Centre Island House, Roserton Street, Isle of Dogs, E14. 7987 9379 www.island-advice.org.uk Legal Advice Centre University House, 104 Roman Road, E2. 8980 4205 www.legaladvicecentre.org.uk Limehouse Project Cheadle Hall, Cheadle House, Copenhagen Place, E14. 7538 0075 www.limehouseproject.org.uk Praxis (New Residents) Pott Street, E2. 7729 7985 www.praxis.org.uk Tower Hamlets Community Advice Network www.thcan.org.uk Tower Hamlets Law Centre Unit 1, St Anne’s Street, off 789-791 Commercial Road, E14. 7538 4909 www.thlc.co.uk

Leisure

John Orwell Sports Centre Tench Street, Wapping, E1W. 7488 9421 Langdon Park Leisure Centre 35 Byron Street, Poplar, E14 7987 3575 Mile End Park Leisure Centre 190 Burdett Road, E3. 8709 4420 Mile End Park Stadium Rhodeswell Road, Poplar, E14. 8980 1885 St George’s Leisure Centre 221 The Highway, Wapping E1W. 7709 9714 Tiller Leisure Centre Tiller Road, Isle of Dogs, E14. 7987 5211 Whitechapel Sports Centre 55 Durward Street, Whitechapel, E1. 7247 7538 York Hall Leisure Centre 5-15 Old Ford Road, E2. 8980 2243


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